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Live blog: Rutgers-Texas A&M women’s NCAA Tournament

“” ‘A&M has to be one of the most aggressive man-to-man teams in the country. I think I’m going to study A&M over the summer.’ That’s a great compliment to this program. A great compliment because eight years ago, when we were building, we were studying Rutgers. It’s a great comment from Coach Stringer. I really respect her for what she’s done for this game and the improvement of this (Rutgers) team is mammouth.”

That was part of Texas A&M coach Gary Blair’s pep talk to his team, as ESPN2 brought viewers into the Aggies’ locker room prior to tonight’s tipoff.

Shaky start for Rutgers, as turnovers on three straight possessions help Texas A&M jump out to a 10-5 advantage.

A 7-0 run pulls Rutgers ahead briefly, but Texas A&M now leads 13-12 with 13:04 to play in the half. Good pace for Rutgers, which is running good sets and converting at a 38.5 percent (5-for-13) clip so far. Turnovers (4 through the first seven minutes) have been an issue for the Scarlet Knights, who committed 27 turnovers versus the Aggies’ suffocating man-to-man defense in their 79-50 loss at Madison Square Garden in December.

A&M leads 26-21 with 4:16 to play in the half. Great start for April Sykes, who has 14 of the Scarlet Knights’ 21 points while shooting 6-for-10 from the field so far.

Despite 14 points from April Sykes, Rutgers trails Texas A&M 32-24 at intermission. Turnovers — 12 in all — have been an issue for Rutgers, which was within three points in the final two minutes before a pair of baskets by Danielle Adams, including a 3-pointer with 36 seconds left, gave the Aggies their largest lead of the game.

Clearly the Scarlet Knights will need to be more careful with the ball, but consider the Aggies only scored six points off Rutgers’ 12 miscues so far. Defensively, they will need to find a way to slow Adams, who is showing why she’s an All-America candidate this season. The 6-1 guard-forward, who led the Big 12 with 22.7 points and 8.6 rebounds this season, has filled the boxscore with 16 points, six rebounds, three steals, two blocks and an assist so far.

About Keith Sargeant

Keith Sargeant is a graduate of Middlesex County College and Kean University. A Home News Tribune staff writer since August 1997, Keith has been covering Rutgers sports since 2000, serving as the Scarlet Knights' football beat writer since 2006.

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